Botanist and broadcaster James Wong has now launched a new aspirational super guide to healthy eating – “How to Eat Better”. The book takes a completely fresh approach about how we can all make big differences by making simple changes in the ways we SELECT, STORE and COOK our foods.

Nutritional Insight and James worked together for 2 years poring over more than 300 studies. Dr Emma Derbyshire acted as James Wong’s nutritional consultant through the course of the project. The results are great – a fresh and visual guide that is stacked with evidence. Even the recipes and ingredients chosen have been developed based on what the science is saying.

Dr Emma Derbyshire says: “Since researching this book I now actively hunt out and eat far more purple potatoes and blood red oranges! James was great to work with and this book really is a one of a kind combining botany and nutrition alike.”

How to Eat Better: How to Shop, Store and Cook to Make Any Food a “Superfood” by James Wong, April, 6, £20, Mitchell Beazley.

The fruit and veg nutrient boosters

o Place your mushrooms on a sunny windowsill for an hour or two – the vitamin D will skyrocket.

o Store strawberries for four days on the counter instead of in the fridge to quadruple their healthy-heart compounds (these peak, alas, just before mould sets in).

o Keep tomatoes and mangos at room temperature for a week or two to almost double their carotene levels.

When cheaper is healthier

o The value blueberries in supermarkets tend to be tiny, so there’s an overall larger surface area of skin, which contains phytonutrients.

o Comminuted orange juice, which includes many cheaper brands, involves blitzing the whole orange to pulp then filtering it, meaning it contains nutrients from the polyphenol-rich zest and skin.

o Tinned tomatoes are better for us than raw because heat breaks open their cells, releasing the lycopene molecules. Concentrated tomato purée is the richest source of lycopene.

Power cooking

o Mixing and matching foods affects their “bioavailability” — how well you absorb their nutrients. For example, the lycopene in tomatoes is fat-soluble, so eat tomatoes with olive oil or avocado.

o Microwaving whole potatoes is the best way to retain all their nutrients.

o Simmer blueberries for three minutes into a compote and get 100 per cent more antioxidants.